Contents

History

Most ethnic Ukrainians moving to Canada from Western Ukraine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were Greek Catholics, and were tended early on by the local Roman Catholichierarchy. At the same time, a smaller group of settlers arriving from Bukovina were mostly Orthodox. Initially served by the Russian mission, by then established in the northwest of North America through Alaska, the Orthodox settlers sought a native Ukrainian church, which they organized in the summer of 1918 in the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The UOCC had strong ties to the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church after 1921, when that body was established in Ukraine. In 1951, St. Mary the Protectress Cathedral (who was not in the UOCC at that time) had invited Metropolitan Ilarion (Ohienko) to Canada to become their church's bishop, while the Consistory of the UOCC had already invited ArchbishopMichael (Khoroshy) and Bishop Platon (who reposed shortly after arriving in Canada) to come to Canada to be the Church's Metropolitan and Bishop respectivly. Once the Consistory had found out of Metropolitan Ilarion's coming to Canada, they sought him out, and invited him to become Metropolitan of the UOCC. He accepted only if St. Mary the Protectress was to be accepted back into the UOCC. The Consistory agreed, and the Central and Eastern Dioceses were created with Archbishop Michael heading the Eastern Diocese with its headquarters in Toronto, and Metropolitan Ilarion heading the Central Diocese in Winnipeg as Metropolitan.

In July 2005, at the Twenty-first Sobor of the UOCC, Metropolitan (then Archbishop) John (Stinka) was elected Archbishop of Winnipeg and Metropolitan of All Canada.. In late 2005, Archbishop John finally replaced Metropolitan Wasyly (Fedak) after the former's acceptance by the holy synod of bishops. Metropolitan Wasyly, who died in January 2005, had served as metropolitan for nearly 20 years.

Currently, the UOCC has just two bishops; this number is fewer than preferred, as three bishops makes a council of bishops, and the UOCC prefers to have four bishops to help them better look after their flock. To help resolve this situation, the Twenty-first Sobor chose Very Rev. Fr. Michael Skumeda as bishop-elect, and an Extraordinary Sobor will be held in July 2007 to elect at least one bishop. In July 2006, Metropolitan John will be enthroned as Archbishop of Winnipeg and the Central Diocese.

Bishops

In Ukrainian (Slavic) Tradition, the metropolitan is the primate of the church, and then followed by the archbishops and bishops.

In the UOCC, the metropolitan is styled the Archbishop of Winnipeg, of the Central Diocese, and All-Canada, while the next two bishops are styled (Arch)bishop of Edmonton, and the Western Diocese and the (Arch)bishop of Toronto, and the Eastern Diocese. When the Church has 4 Bishops, the 4th is always styled the Bishop of Saskatoon, and Vicar of the Central Diocese. Usually the church only has four bishops, but if there is a need for more, then the titles available are Bishop of Montreal, and Vicar of the Eastern Diocese, and Bishop of Vancouver, and the Vicar of the Western Diocese.

List of bishops, past and present, who served in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada:

Abp. Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) (later Archbishop, and Metropolitan of UOC of USA, and in 1990-93, Patriarch of Ukraine in the UAOC), deceased

Metr. Michael (Khoroshy) of Toronto (1950-1977), metropolitan from 1972 to 1975 (at the XV Sobor in 1975, Metropolitan Michael resigned as Metropolitan, as he wished to remain in the Eastern Diosese), deceased